Lullaby for the Death God and Moon Princess
by SnappyDragon
Summary: Giratina and Arceus arrive in Equestria, though at a very bad time. Not one, but two dark threats have been on the prowl, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. And that moment has arrived. A crossover fic between Neo Dragon X and me. This is on Neo Dragon X's account as well.


"Giratina!" Arceus called out. His brother, despite what he had just been told, continued setting up the portal. "Giratina, I told you, no! I will not allow you to set up another inter-dimensional portal. It's just too dangerous!"

The grey, basilisk-like Pokemon rolled his ruby eyes and scoffed. "All-mighty ruler of dimensions here, Arceus. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm do-" the reflective lake in which he was setting up the portal swirled and flickered violet. "Oh, yes!" Giratina cried as the lake swirled into a glowing, violet whirlpool, leading to an unknown dimension.

Arceus sighed as he watched his brother flap his black wings and circle his portal. He knew that Giratina wanted to live up to his purpose of guarding dimensions, so he was starting out by making portals to random dimensions. Arceus figured he was doing all this to strengthen himself, but this had been going on for months now and Giratina's red eyes were often glazed with exhaustion. Arceus worried for his brother, who he feared was pushing himself too hard.

"Giratina, please, stop this and rest," Arceus pleaded as the portal flickered and slowed. Even though Giratina's face was covered by his natural golden crest, Arceus could see he was straining much more than usual. Oh, why did he insist on making portal after portal without even a minute's rest? But Giratina paid no mind to Arceus' worries and the portal went swirling on again.

"Okay, Arceus, I'm going in," Giratina called.

"Wait," said Arceus, as he rose in the air and took his place by his younger brother's side. "I would like to come with you, just this once. I know you like to do this alone, but you are tired and I worry for you, Giratina. Truly, I do. May I please come with?"

To Arceus' surprize, Giratina nodded consent. Perhaps he was just too tired to refuse, or maybe Arceus got through to him and he decided to have his older brother with him, just in case. After all, as the Alpha Pokemon and High Lord, Arceus had almost as much say in the controlling of dimensions and could bring Giratina back home to the Palace of Origin atop the Spear Pillar if the dark grey Pokemon was too tired to do so himself.

They lowered their giant forms into the depths of the swirling portal, and the world shifted around them. But the exhausted Giratina's head slumped and his red eyes closed and a giant snore filled Arceus' ears. "Wake up! Now is not the ti-" but he was cut off as Giratina's portal shut off just before dropping them on whatever random dimension, and sending them both spiraling in different directions.

"Oh, Giratina…" Arceus sighed as he was brutally flung from the portal stream.

* * *

100 A.F.D.D

(After the First Defeat of Discord)

Princesses Celestia and Luna had thought they were prepared for anything. Why shouldn't they have, they who had defeated threat after threat in the name of Equestria? But they certainly did not expect the giant, grey dragon-like creature to come crashing from the sky and towards the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

"Y-Your Majesties!" blurted a pegasus guard, barging into the throne room where the princesses sat… or were supposed to sit. The frantic guard dashed around the throne room, until he caught sight through the window of the two princesses flying off in the direction of the giant grey dragon.

"Whew!" he said, wiping his brow with his hoof. "It's a good thing the princesses are here. Otherwise that… thing would've crashed through into the throne room-"

He was cut off as the grey, dragon-like creature crashed through the roof of the throne room, right on top of the screaming guard.

* * *

"Oops," said Luna rather lamely as she looked down at the giant hole in the roof of their throne room, billowing dust.

"Oops? Is 'oops' all you have to say? You were supposed to levitate the head!" exclaimed Celestia rather harshly. Luna hung her head. Realising that she was being a little too harsh, Celestia flapped over to her younger sister and put her gilded hoof on her midnight-blue shoulder. "I'm sorry for shouting, Luna. Now; how about we see what exactly a giant dragon is doing crashing into our castle?" Luna perked up and nodded, and the two sisters flew down to the wreckage of their throne room.

They landed by some rubble near the giant dragon. Celestia and Luna troted up to its huge belly.

"In the name of Faust; the beast has six legs!" exclaimed Luna in wonder.

"Yes, I see that it does. A few dragons may have six legs, and this creature does have a draconic air about it, but dragon doesn't seem quite right…"

"Uhh, princesses? A little help, here? Pardon me for interrupting, but I appear to be SQUASHED UNDER A GIANT DRAGON!" while the first part of the guard's speech was rather muffled, the last bit was much easier to hear, due to the shouting. Celestia and Luna wrapped their magical auras around the knocked-out (or perhaps sleeping) beast. It took some level of straining, but the huge dragon was lifted high enough for the poor, slightly- squashed pegasus guard to get out.

"It's a good thing I was just stuck between those golden loops around its neck," breathed the guard as the princesses, unable to keep lifting the dragon's weight, put it down again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go lay down on my bed for a moment." The poor pegasus trotted out of the mostly-destroyed throne room.

"Now that that's out of the way," said Celestia, "that still leaves the problem of the dragon and our ruined throne room…"

Suddenly, they heard a voice, strong and powerful, yet old at the same time. It shook the throne room itself; the little bits of rubble jittered, and the princesses almost toppled over. The mighty voice said, " **DO NOT, ANY OF YOU, TOUCH A SCALE ON MY BROTHER'S HIDE! IF YOU DO, I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT YOU ARE BURNED IN GROUDON'S LAVA!"**

The rest of the throne room was destroyed as an equally huge, four legged creature. It had short, white fur covering its body, giving an almost ethereal glow. Its white legs ended in a golden point, though they were unused, as it floated in the air despite a noticeable lack of wings. Though it had clearly been the one talking, it had no mouth, just a grey face that extended its grey through the creature's belly. It had a long, mane-like structure tapering from the back of its head, and two golden arcs upon its middle, set with emeralds. Two huge red eyes glowed at its head, blazing at the two princesses. It looked quite majestic, yet utterly terrifying, with the sun blazing behind it from the destroyed wall.

It looked down at them, then at the sleeping dragon it called its brother. The great creature fixed its ruby eyes on the two sisters. In a voice so soft and different from the booming voice it had used, it said, "Well. Here I find my brother lying on the ground, at the hooves of two Rapidash. But I suppose, as we are not in my world, not Rapidash, but what I can only assume to be horses."

"Actually, we're ponies," piped up Luna before Celestia shoved her hoof in her mouth to quiet her. The beast's eyes glittered.

"And yet… You do not seem of ill intent, and I shall admit that dear Giratina could probably sleep through crashing through a castle, considering how tired he was." the beast chuckled to itself. "Oh, look at you, Arceus. Look how you act without your brother to counteract you rash rage." He lowered itself to the floor, its gold-tipped hoof-like structures touching the ground. With utmost grace, the beast walked over to its brother and tapped its side. "Fast asleep. He didn't even use Rest."

"Um, yes, excuse me," said Princess Celestia, regaining her composure. "But, ah, who are you?"

The creature turned its head back to Celestia, and she saw that its eyes were not all read. Rather, they were smaller red eyes, surrounded but an emerald, reflective green, with two circles underneath that reminded Celestia of tears. "I am Arceus," he (for it must be a he) said. "Lord of the Pokemon Dimension."

Celestia and Luna raised their chins up and said at the same time, "Princesses Celestia and Luna; co-rulers of Equestria."

Arceus smiled, or at least it seemed that way considering his lack of mouth. "Co-rulers… Ah, perhaps when Giratina is older and wiser, he will make a fine lord, to rule alongside me. But, not yet, I'm afraid. He is… much too young, and still has much to learn."

Luna tilted her head. "But, as his brother, you can't be much older… right?"

Arceus looked away. "Oh, yes. I suppose… I suppose you're right. In any case, though, Giratina still has not mastered his power, and cannot rule the Pokemon World as he is now."

Celesia gave Luna a look that clearly said to not question the judgments of one such powerful being, and Luna gave a rather un-princess-like humph. Arceus poked Giratina in his grey hide.

"Wake up, Giratina. Giratina!" the grey dragon gave a horrendous snore and rolled over on his other side, revealing his pitch black wings. Arceus sighed. "Oh, Giratina…" he turned and addressed the princesses. "May we stay a night at your castle? It should not take Giratina long to recover."

Celestia nodded. "Of course. But, ah…"

Arceus' eyes flashed with a good-hearted laughter. "Oh ho ho! Yes, I believe my brother and I wrecked your throne room. Don't worry; I am a creator, and I will fix this." He swept his head in a wide arc and white light enveloped the mutilated room. The light faded, and it was as good as the day it was built.

Luna's face split into a smile. "Wow, Arceus! How'd you do th-"

But she was cut off as Celestia elbowed her side. "Behave yourself, Luna. Arceus is a true ruler. There is much you can learn from him," she whispered. Luna frowned. Though she knew her sister meant well, that was a bit harsh… it made her feel… so _angry_ …

But Luna was snapped out of her darkening thoughts as Celestia said, "Come, Arceus. I'm sure there is a room in this place large enough for you and your brother. I'm thinking… ballroom?"

Arceus gave a good-natured laugh. "Oh, yes. That would be nice, thank you." He pushed his head underneath Giratina's massive grey body, and followed Celestia through the fixed doors of the throne room. They were barely big enough for them to squeeze through.

Celestia turned to Luna. "Come on, Luna. Let's show them to their room."

But Luna was beginning to have enough of her sister's bossyness. She looked Celestia right in the eye and said, "No."

Celestia paused. "What? Luna, as princess and hostess, it is only proper for you to welcome guests and show them to-"

"I said 'NO'!" Luna said, a bit louder than she intended. Celestia's gaze hardened. "Fine then, I'll do it myself. And I'll have a talk with you later." And with that, Celestia walked through the doors. They swung shut behind her, leaving Luna in the throne room.

Luna turned away from the doors, facing her and her sister's thrones. She frowned as she saw Celestia's had a lighter, more regal color, whilst her throne was dark and drab. She staggered back, and saw her reflection in a window. She was so much smaller, as was her not-golden crown. Her mane was less of a pretty thing to look at, her shoes were drab. And as she looked at one of the windows with the stained-glass pictures, the one depicting her ruling the night, she realized that the ponies did not love her night and starry sky as they did her sister's bright day. For the first time, she noticed these things. Tiny though they may seem, they meant a great deal to Luna. And she felt… jealous. Angry.

She whipped her head around from the despicable picture, and saw another pony, a mare to be precise. She was as tall as her sister, a deep blue mane flowing swiftly, and blue-black coat. She wore regal armor - Luna's armor - and her eyes were icy and draconic. She smiled, though it was not a nice smile, and her teeth were sharp fangs.

"Hello, Luna," she said.

Luna took a wary step back. "Who… Are you?"

The mare tilted her head, her icy eyes flashing. "In a way, I suppose I am you…"

* * *

Celestia and Arceus walked down the hallway, the vaulted ceiling and far-apart walls were only just big enough for the monstrously-huge Arceus and his brother, draped over his back like some strange cloak. Celestia decided to ask a few questions about him.

"So, Arceus, forgive me if I'm being rude, but what exactly… are you?"

Arceus smiled, or it seemed that way. His lack of mouth made reading his emotions rather confusing. "You are not rude at all, Princess. My brother and I are creatures known as Pokemon. I am the first Pokemon, and the creator of all the different species and Types of Pokemon there are, along with the wide, wide world in which they live. I made them so their hearts, deep deep down, all reflected mine - so to say, they do what they deem is right. And so, as is my will, there is no truly evil Pokemon."

Celestia quietly pondered this as she trotted along the halls with Arceus and his sleeping brother. _A creature who created an entire world and a plethora of creatures to live upon it? That is truly incredible power! He may be a threat to Equestria! … But no. He seems wise and trustworthy, and if what he says is true, he does not have a dark heart._ Celestia nodded, her mind made up. "I believe you Arceus," she said. She noticed that they were at the large doors to the expansive ballroom. "And we are here," she said.

Arceus dipped his head in order to get through the doors, but he managed. Giratina snorted in his sleep as his wings brushed against the walls, but Arceus carefully got him in. "Do you need anything?" asked Celestia.

Arceus shook his huge head. "No, Princess, we are quite fine the way we are."

Celestia smiled and prepared to walk off. She paused. "And call me Celestia, not Princess, please."

Arceus's ruby eyes glittered, and Celestia again felt that he was smiling. "Yes, Princess. Of course."

Celestia rolled her eyes at the cliche'd answer to her rather cliche'd order, and trotted off down the halls.

Arceus lay down next to his brother. Arceus rarely tired, and tonight was no exception. He watched over Giratina, and bid him "Good night, and may Cresselia bring you sweet dreams."

However, unbeknownst to Arceus (who was much too kind to look into Giratina's dreams), that the grey dragon was not having sweet dreams at all…

* * *

"What do you mean by "I'm you"? We are in no sense the same pony! And if you are me from the future… Yeesh, I've really let myself go."

The dark mare scowled at Luna. But she regained her air of superiority. "As your official alter-ego, I believe I am you, all technicalities aside."

Luna backed away. "If you are, in fact, my alter-ego, then doesn't that mean you want to be the supreme consciousness and try to trick me into giving control over to you?"

The dark mare looked offended. "Goodness, no! And, as proof, since you think that I think that I should be supreme, I will not take over your mind because, as your alter-ego, I am you opposite, and, as your opposite, I do the opposite of what you (or I, depending on your viewpoint) would do."

Luna was silent for a moment. Then… "Ohhhh, yes! That makes sense. Looks like my alter-ego is smart!"

Luna's alter-ego sighed. _That is not something the average pony would be happy about…_ She regained her composure though. "However, I can still feel the way you do. And you know what I feel? Anger. I am angry at Celestia for treating us so roughly. Are you?"

Luna looked guilty. "Y-yes, but oh! It feels terrible… I shouldn't be mad at her; Celestia only wants what's best for me."

"What's best for you, or what's best for _her_?" The sly alter-ego hissed, as she had somehow teleported herself behind the midnight alicorn. "Celestia knows you have a strong, independent spirit. But instead of nurturing that spirit, she tries to crush it down, and force you into submission. You are not equals; She has the larger planet, the larger crown, heck - even the taller body! But Celestia doesn't know what's best for you. YOU know what's best for you… And by extension, me. So, how's about I lend you my cleverness and courage and strength, and together, we can stand up to our sister and tell her what we need. What do I say?"

Luna, whose brow had been furrowing in anger at the Sun Princess, stood up tall and said in a clear voice, "I accept!"

But her bravado was instantly shattered as the dark mare rushed forth and into her. In Luna's last moments of consciousness, she heard the evil voice of her alter-ego hissing. "Big mistake!" The last thing poor Luna knew was that the voice came from her mouth, now lined with pointed fangs that gleamed in the night of her moon…

* * *

The appearance of such evil from a world that had recently had a portal connected to it caught the attention of a being so cruel, so dark, so undoubtedly evil that they say the Distortion World spat its spirit back out when it died. The being lived a half-life; not truly alive, but certainly not dead. It took on many forms, each one unusual and macabre and so… so… oh, we cannot find the right word for this creature's form for the Reader, so evil it is! And yet, as twisted as the being's soul is, its evil is not generally known.

It portrays itself as a friend, a creature who will gladly give you riches and fame with its reality-changing powers. But to all who have met it, their world is destroyed, ripped apart by the sheer desire of this evil to consume all. It does not have a true name, even it does not remember if it once had. It refers to itself as the Glitch, or the Glitch King, but we shall call it Missingno for the sake of simplicity.

Missingno felt the presence of an evil force, pulsing through the remnants of the portal Arceus and Giratina went through. Missingno, as it was not shackled by the bonds of reality, was not hindered by distance, so it appeared with ase at the place the portal once stood. It floated over the lake, the glitchy mass undulating through the air as if it were torn between continuing its half-life and ripping itself apart for the fun of it. Missingno peered at the now-still surface, feeling the aftermath of the portal. A sense of evil pleasure wreathed the Glitch and it followed the severed trail of the portal to the place where it lead.

Missingno was hardly surprised to find itself at the doors of a castle in the middle of the woods, as the Glitch was rarely surprised. But it was interested, because it felt darkness leak from the heart of a midnight-blue pony and take the form of an evil creature. Missingno chuckled, a high sound that echoed in one's mind and felt like you were hearing it through a wall of static.

The Glitch, however, did not target this alicorn. Instead, he went for the fears in someone else's heart. Giratina. Oh, Giratina had not noticed the fear yet, but they were tickling the back of his mind; certain things that did not quite piece together the way Arceus had told him. Giratina did not know, but the devilish Missingno did. And it fully intended on telling the Distortion Pokemon exactly what Arceus would not.

It descended into the dreams of Giratina, manifesting itself in the imagination of the dragon. It took on its favorite form - the thick, backwards L-shape - and revealed itself in Giratina's dreams.

"Who are you?" asked the Dragon Type, startled at the sudden interruption of his peaceful slumber.

Missingno giggled like that was a joke. "Oh, surely you've heard of me!" It said, it's high voice dipping into a low rumble at "heard", as if even its voice would not abide by the usual voice-rules (whatever those are).

Giratina shook his head.

"Why, I'm the King of Glitches! Missingno! … Oh, please. You know of me; your own Distortion World wouldn't accept my soul when I died!"

"Oh, well yes. You kept taking all the popcorn."

"Yes, because I am so EEEEEEEVIL!" The Glitch screeched, it's high voice - er - glitching at the "evil", causing the elongated "E" to take on a demonic undertone that rocked Giratina's head.

"Ow! Ow! Please use your indoor voice," Giratina moaned.

"Oh, yes, of course. Anything for the co-ruler of the Pokemon World."

Giratina shook his head with a light-hearted laugh. "Oh, no! I'm not a co-ruler yet!"

Oh, yes. This was coming along nicely for Missingno. "Really? One would have thought so, with you being Arceus's brother. '...Hatched from the egg only a few minutes after the Alpha', as the legends say. Surely you had an equal hand in the creation of the Pokemon World?"

Giratina fidgeted. "Yes, I suppose… but I don't remember anything about creating the Pokemon World."

Missingno could not smile, but he was deviously happy he may as well be. "What if you are not his brother?" asked the Demon Glitch.

Giratina looked genuinely surprised. "Why… I-I've never thought about it. But I must be his brother! He wouldn't lie to me!"

"Well," said Missingno in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, "if he is really not your brother, would that not mean he was lying to you since the beginning?"

Giratina paused, thinking about it. It made a little too much sense; not being able to remember creating the Pokemon World, Arceus not allowing him to rule with him. Still… "If I am truly not his brother, what am I?"

"You are as much of his creation as any other Pokemon. You are no more special to him than a common Magikarp," whispered Missingno.

"I… don't believe it! You are lying!" And with that said, Giratina rose up on his last two pairs of legs, the front pair growing long, sharp, violet claws that glowed in a ghostly light; Shadow Claw. But before Giratina attacked, he paused. He lowered himself to the ground, his claws disappearing. "Is… This true?" he asked, his red eyes brimming with tears.

It was all Missingno could do not to giggle with delight at the Ghost-Dragon's sorrow. "Yes. Arceus created you last of all to be an evil, violent psychopath to balance out his perfect nature."

"But… I'm not an evil, violent psychopath… right?" Giratina asked.

"No, you are your own self. Arceus has no say to how you act. When he realized you were good, he was very disappointed his plans did not work out and did not give you your rightful spot as co-ruler."

Giratina's gaze hardened. "No, he didn't."

Missingno glitched, his mess of pixels flickering. _Hold yourself together,_ he berated himself. All this excitement was not doing him good. "And," he continued, "Arceus did not even tell you who you really are! Instead, he lied to you about being his brother!"

"He did!" said Giratina, conviction in his voice as he stood up tall and imposing.

"And," screeched Missingno, "and-and-and-and-" He had to pause for a moment; his voice had gone through a glitchy loop, so excited was he that his plans were working. "And he ate like, half your birthday cake 126 years ago, on your 2,000th birthday!"

"I remember that, but I do not remember an apology!" Bellowed Giratina, his voice a demonic, roaring rumble that chilled even Missingno.

"Would you like revenge?" he whispered.

Giratina paused.

"Yes," he answered.

"But you are too weak…" mused Missingno. "Arceus made it so that you, or any other Pokemon, can never be as strong as he. Of course, I am a little more than a Pokemon. If you let me stay here inside your clever little mind, I will grant you power beyond even your wildest, Darkrai-sent dreams! What do you say? Heck, I'll even throw in an infinite number of the sixth item in your bag!"

Even without the infinite items, Giratina would have agreed. "Yes," he growled, and bowed his head to the Glitch in recognition of the agreement.

Missingno could hardly believe it. With the body of the Great Ghost, he could destroy Arceus and take the Pokemon World for himself! He chuckled as he wrapped himself around Giratina's willing mind, seizing control, and prepared to awaken.

* * *

BOOM!

The explosion rocked the castle and jolted Celestia awake. "What in Equestria…?" she whispered, flying out of bed and out the window. In the sky, a black silhouette against the moon, was Luna. But it was not Luna. This mare was too tall, too dark, her ethereal mane too undulating. Could it be possible the legends of evil alter-egos were true? Could this be Luna, possessed by her own alter-ego? "Oh, Luna…" breathed Celestia in worry.

And that's when she found out where the explosion came from.

Celestia barely dodged the small, but dangerous flaming meteor as it hurled itself from the sky and down onto the castle, rocking the thing and setting it alight. More meteors rained from above, destroying more of the castle and the forest around it.

"You have oppressed me for too long, _sister_!" the dark mare called from above. "I will rule Equestria, and you will die!" with that, the dark mare angled her wings in a dive, her horn sharp and aimed straight for Celestia's chest. There was no way her necklace could deflect a blow from that speed, and the meteors kept her from moving. All this was seen by the alter-ego, who grinned as she knew her horn would reach its mark. But she found herself blown away by a strange force, like magic but… not.

"Oh, no…" she groaned, knowing that Arceus had arrived up. And there he was, shining white and eyes glowing red as his elegant mass protected Celestia.

"Interesting…" he said in a cold, cynical tone which was so unlike the one he had used when he spoke kindly to the pony sisters. "An alter-ego, Luna's if I am to take a guess. Tell me, what do you call yourself?"

The dark mare grinned. "I am Nightmare Moon!"

Arceus seemed to smile. "I like how you incorporated that pun. 1/10 for originality."

"Why only one out of ten?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Because I hate puns. I let the Lords of each Pokemon species name themselves, and most of them chose puns. And now each Pokemon species say their lord's name over again in their own language and it gets soooo annoying after 4 billion years. Seriously, all the Pikachu say is 'Pika! Pika-chu!' I mean, come on!"

By this time, Celestia had regained her senses enough to fly up to eye-level with Nightmare Moon. "Nightmare Moon," said Celestia, "I will give you one chance to relinquish your hold on Luna."

"Why, of course!" said the nightmare. "Luna, how's about you take over now?"

Nothing happened.

"See? I gave Luna the chance to reclaim her body, but she wants this. I can't just force control back to her. You're going to have to banish me!"

Celestia shot forward, and Nightmare Moon hurtled away. The two sisters tore off through the sky, hurling spells and beams of energy at each other. Nightmare Moon's concentration had broken, so the meteors had ceased falling. Arceus took this chance to see if his brother was alright.

He hovered over the hole in the ceiling of the Ballroom; he had made the hole himself in order to break out to see what the commotion was. It was the only hole, which meant that the meteors had not broken through, which meant Giratina was quite alright.

Or so Arceus thought.

His brother burst from the hole in the roof, straight into Arceus's chest. The Alpha Pokemon was thrown back before he managed to steady himself. What he saw was a surprise.

Giratina was not in his Altered Form. Rather, he was in his Origin Form, the one he took on only in the Distortion World. While in the Altered Form, Arceus and Giratina had been about the same height, the Origin Form of Giratina was over 22 feet long, and his undulating snake-like body gave him maximum control over himself. But how in the universe did Giratina gain this form without being in the Distortion World?

Arceus's questions was answered when Giratina spoke. It was not his normal, slightly gruff way of speaking, but rather high and static-y. "Hello, Arceus! Just wanted to drop by and see how you're doing, maybe buy you some candy, and of course, kill you!"

"Missingno!" huffed Arceus. "Can't you spend one week without coming up with some crazy plan to take over the Pokemon World?"

"Nope! The work of us glitches are never done!"

"Yes, you are a glitch!" agreed Arceus. "I should never have let you exist! In fact, I should really just blow you to pixels now as punishment for trying to kill me again. It is bad manners to try to destroy gods like myself when they're busy visiting other dimensions."

"Well I don't like manners! So with that said… DIE!" Missingno roared from Giratina's maw, and a dark purple Shadow Ball appeared in front of it. However, instead of remaining a purple color, it glitched over with the browns and blacks of Missingno, becoming pixilated, and when it was launched at Arceus, it left a trail of glitchy distortion in its wake.

Arceus nimbly dodged the Shadow Ball and brought out his Dread Plate, which would change him into a dark type to better combat Giratina's Ghost Typing. He absorbed it into his chest rather than the arc on his back. His grey chest became black, as did the golden arc and the golden tips of his feet. His eyes became green outlined with red, rather than the other way around. He used his most powerful move; Judgement, in hopes its divine power would cast Missingno from Giratina's body. But Missingno must have been firmly planted within the mind of his brother, as Judgement barely scratched it. But that wasn't right; if Judgement did not cast the Glitch from Giratina, then it should do damage… Right?

"Wrong!" shouted Missingno, as if he had somehow heard Arceus's inner musings. "I might be controlling a Ghost Type, but _I'm_ still a Bird Type!"

"There is no such thing! If there was, I would have a Plate for that!" countered Arceus, who had long since lost patience for Missingno's stubborn insistence that he was a "Bird Type", when there was no such thing. He decided to change the subject to more puzzling matter.

"But how did you take over the mind of Giratina? He has a strong mind that would never fall to the likes of you."

"Oh, you know," said Missingno, twisting Giratina's body to float on its back in a carefree manner. "I just told him that he isn't really your brother and that you created him like any other Pokemon."

Arceus's strong demeanor faltered, though only momentarily. Missingno sensed it, though. "How… Do you know that?" Arceus asked in a hushed tone.

"Not too hard to work out. The Pokedex entry gives no hint at all to say you are brothers."

"What… Is a Pokedex?" Arceus asked, tilting his head.

"Oh, right. Well, once, I tricked Celebi into sending me to the future for a bit…"

Arceus sighed, looking at poor Giratina. He had thought that even when he told Giratina the truth - and he WOULD tell Giratina the truth - he would have loved him as much anyway. It did not make any sense. "Let me speak to him," he said, hoping an explanation from Giratina would bring him insight.

"What?" exclaimed Missingno. "Have me loosen my hold just so you can Judgement me away? Yeah, that ain't gonna happen, mister."

"Then You leave me no choice," said Arceus, knowing no amount of persuasion would get through to this demon. "I am afraid I will have to fight you!"

* * *

Celestia and Nightmare Moon were in a furious battle to the death. Spells and beams of magic were being exchanged at an impressive speed, and the two were doing incredible acrobatic feats in the night sky in an attempt to dodge each other's ferocious onslaught.

Nightmare Moon then positioned herself before the moon, her silhouette black against its silver side. She began to charge a powerful beam of light to fire at Celestia. Celestia, seeing what she was doing, prepared a beam as well. There was one brief moment of calm as the two mares simply hung in the sky. Then…

 _BOOM!_ The two beams met, creating a supernova-like explosion that sent both mares flying back. Nightmare Moon came crashing down somewhere in the Everfree forest, while Celestia was hurled through the elaborate, stained-glass window of the Royal Treasury.

Celestia skidded across the stone floor before coming to rest, panting, at the foot of the pedestal where the Elements of Harmony sat. Looking at them, Celestia wondered what in Equestria caused her and Luna's harmony to break. Perhaps it was because Celestia had been increasingly hard on her. She had just been trying to teach her to become a noble princess, but… Luna must have taken it the wrong way. And Celestia couldn't blame her; upon looking back at her words and actions, she was acting like a big, royal jerk.

Celestia's ears pricked as she heard the sound of wings flapping swiftly, and knew Luna - or rather, Nightmare Moon had picked herself off the forest floor and was returning swiftly to end the fight. Though it hurt, Celestia shakily stood. She knew she did not have the magic left to stop Nightmare Moon. She looked behind her at the Elements of Harmony. There was no telling what they'd do; their magic was rather unstable, but they were Celestia's last hope. She picked them up in what little magic she had left, and they began to swirl around her, a rainbow trailing from them, and the Element of Magic lifted up high, strands of violet beginning to connect the rainbow trail.

Nightmare Moon crashed through the rest of the window, and was incredibly surprised to see a giant rainbow slam right into her face.

* * *

As furiously as Celestia and Nightmare Moon fought, Arceus and Missingno/Giratina fought smarter. The classic exchange of Pokemon moves was in play here, though at a much quicker rate that gave the opponent less time to think. This wasn't a problem for Missingno (rarely did he strategize) and Arceus was doing as well, thanks to his ancient experience. Missingno would use Giratina's various moves to try to lay waste to the Alpha, but Arceus simply shifted his Plates to reduce, or, at times, completely negate the effects of Giratina/Missingno's Moves. And all the while, Arceus would throw in an attack of his own, and Missingno realized that if this kept up, he would lose. Not to mention his glitchy and unnatural presence was slowly causing Giratina's body to deteriorate, bits of glitchy pixels falling off his body. Missingno would have to end this quickly, or else he'd lose enough of his hold on Giratina for Arceus to kick him out. As Missingno caused Giratina's body to parry a Punishment from Arceus, further knocking down his Health Bar, Missingno had an idea. Without his Plates, Arceus would be forced to be just a Normal Type. And if he was a Normal Type, Judgement would have no effect on Giratina! Perfect! Now… How to get rid of those annoying Plates?

Suddenly, the warring Pokemon paused on their fight to hear a rocking explosion rip through the sky above their heads, and two figures crash to the earth. "Oh, no…" moaned Arceus as he recognized the pearly white alicorn as Celestia, falling to the faraway castle. Arceus was surprised at how far away from the palace he and Missingno had gotten, and as he sped off to help Celestia, he feared he would not catch her in time.

But before he had gone three yards, Giratina appeared in front of him and slammed him with a full on Shadow Force. Arceus, who had the misfortune to currently be a Ghost Type himself, was weak to Shadow Force and felt a great deal of his Health Bar decrease from the powerful attack. Arceus found himself knocked to the ground. His plates burst from his arc and scattered away, and Arceus felt not his Health Bar, but his life itself beginning to fade away. He struggled to his feet, but he was forced to the ground by the glitchy mess of what was once Giratina. Waves of ruined pixels rolled off the possessed Pokemon, keeping Arceus on the ground. And there he lay.

"Finally," cawed Missingno in joy. "I have finally defeated the great King of Pokemon! I may be your accidental creation, Arceus, but you will be my purposeful destruction!" Missingno raised Giratina's head, prepared to send a powerful move at Arceus, but then he stopped. Missingno found that he could no longer move the head of the Ghost Dragon. "What?" he asked, confusion in his high voice. And it seemed as though Giratina was beginning to gain control once more. However, there was a good chance the cause to Missingno's pause was from the instinct of this body wishing to flee from the giant rainbow of doom racing towards him.

* * *

Celestia rose in the air, empowered by the Elements of Harmony repelling Nightmare Moon. The dark mare let out an un-pony-like scream of rage and frustration at the rainbow pushing her back, but Celestia paid her no heed. She was too busy pouring her heart out t the Elements to will them to work. The rainbow began to cause Nightmare Moon to lose her ground, and they forced her back higher and higher in the sky, until finally, with a shout of anger, she was blown back by the rainbow. Celestia saw an explosion on the moon, where Nightmare moon had hit, and a horsehead-shaped crater was revealed as the moon dust dissipated. How cruelly ironic; the moon Luna so loved was to be her prison for evermore.

Celestia tried to shut off the Elements, but the rainbow suddenly arched from the moon down to the woods a ways away from the castle. Celestia followed it and watched in surprise and bewilderment as Giratina, whose body was peeling away in odd, dark, tiny squares, prepared to strike down Arceus. The rainbow slammed right down into him, forcing some kind of backwards L-shaped creature out of his body, which instantly stopped fading away. Giratina sank to the ground while Missingno feverishly tried to hold his crumbling body together.

Arceus rose, and watched Celestia's strange stones scatter, before returning with his Plates locked in a rainbow aura. The Plates were pulled into the golden arc upon his back. "What are those strange stones?" he asked.

"The Elements of Harmony," answered Celestia, still in shock and grieving for her sister. "You're… um, Plates?"

"Exactly that. They allow me to change my Type in order to have the perfect advantage over any Pokemon," the Alpha Pokemon replied. Celestia nodded.

"Ooooh…" groaned Missingno. His form flickered from a skeleton dragon-like creature, to a skeletal… thing with swords for arms, to a grey-black ghost with glowing eyes, to glitchy orange bars of data, and then back to a backwards L. He remained still.

"Giratina," said Arceus in a somber voice, as he lifted the golden chin of the Distortion Pokemon, now back in his Altered Form, so their red eyes could meet. "Tell me." In those two words Giratina knew that Arceus was asking for an explanation. So he complied.

"I thought you loved me!" he spat.

"Giratina, I do. I thought that would be clear to you."

"But not like a brother. I'm just another one of your creations to use as you please, just another Pokemon beneath you. Why, you didn't even tell me that I am not really your brother! Am I so untrustworthy that you cannot even tell me the truth?"

"No, Giratina," said Arceus. "I do trust you, but I thought you were not ready. I created you to be my equal-opposite, the sole voice of reason to stop me from the horrible things I can, and most likely would, do."

"But why did you make me an evil, violent psychopath?"

Arceus glared at Missingno, who seemed to shrink in fear. "I didn't make you an evil, violent psychopath," rebutted Arceus, now addressing Giratina. "I only provide the body for my creations; I don't give the personality."

Giratina was silent.

Then, Missingno, who seemed to have recovered, said, "This isn't the last you'll see of me, fool! I still can possess Giratina whenever I please! He resents you for lying, and so long as he does, he is mine to use however I wish!"

"No," rumbled Arceus. "There is one place where Giratina can go, and so long as he stays there, he shall not fall prey to your lies!"

Arceus rose into the air, eyes glowing red, as all of his Plates appeared around him, circling his golden arc. A rift appeared in the air. "The only way you can be safe, Giratina, is if you forever remain in the Distortion World. Missingno's darkness cannot live in the purity of the Distortion World." The rift began to pull Giratina in.

"What? No! Arceus!" he shouted, trying to scramble away, but the rift already had his tail and was quickly pulling the rest of him in.

Arceus closed his eyes and cried one, sparkling tear. "Forgive me," he begged Giratina, before the rift to the Distortion World closed, trapping the Renegade Pokemon there forever.

Arceus turned towards Missingno, his eyes no longer filled with remorse, but with a blind, red fury so intense even Celestia was startled. And if Celestia was even so much as startled, you can only imagine the fear that Missingno, the one such anger was directed at, was feeling now.

"N-Now now, Arceus," he stammered, though it was not his glitchy voice that made it so. "No need to get hasty!"

Arceus obviously was not listening. " **You cost me my brother!** " the Alpha roared.

"W-W-Well, he wasn't ACTUALLY your brother…"

Oops, Missingno, that was a mistake.

Arceus slammed his golden hoof-like structures into the ground, cracking it. " **If innocent Giratina must be imprisoned, then so will you!** " And yet, as Arceus tried to summon a portal to send Missingno to the very edge of the universe, he found he had not the energy. But Celestia stood next to him and the Elements of Harmony and Arceus' Plates began spinning in a circle, combining what power they had left to send this monstrosity away.

A blast of rainbow light with much more colors than usual came from the magical objects, hitting Missingno and dispersing his blocky pixels through the air.

"Where did he end up?" Celestia asked, knowing that it was against the nature of the Elements to kill.

"He is stuck at the bottom of the sea near a landmass known as Cinnabar Island," Arceus answered.

"Will he stay there?"

"I hope so. But I worry that in the future, an unsuspecting Pokemon Trainer may stumble upon him along their journey. But that is not of importance now, as I'm sure you would like to know who that is," said Arceus. Celestia nodded.

"Well," began Arceus, "that creature calls himself Missingno. He claims to be a Bird/Normal Type, though there is no such thing as a Bird Type; I fear his sanity was lost along with his body. He should have died long ago, yet he lives on in the form of an angry, vengeful spirit we call a Glitch. You have Glitches in your world, though they are few and are more startling than actually dangerous. Missingno claims to be the Glitch King, and he, like other kings, has his subjects: M, Zazz, OPkMn4X, and a whole bunch of others we don't need to mention. He lives in a dark, glitchy world known as 'Glitch City'. He has often tried to defeat Giratina and me, but I never took him seriously. Until now, that is."

Arceus heaved a sigh and sat down. Celestia, unsure of how to comfort the Pokemon King, and quite upset at her own loss, patted him on the back rather awkwardly. "There, there," she said.

Arceus lifted his head, his red eyes meeting Celestia's own. "But where is Nightmare Moon?"

Celestia gulped and held back her tears, unwilling to cry in front of Arceus. "The Elements of Harmony sent her to the moon."

"Ah," said Arceus. Celestia sat down next to him. He patted her back in what she supposed was gentle, but the huge hoof (she had decided that that was what she would call that weird foot) hit against her rather roughly from the giant creature's strength. Arceus then stood.

"I will go now," he said, and began to use his plates to open a small, weak-looking portal that wavered and quaked and looked overall very unstable. Celestia leapt to her hooves.

"Go? But… You just got here?" Her argument tapered off into a weak question. Of course Arceus needed to go; his people needed him to rule them. She nodded her head. "Good bye," she said.

Arceus turned and looked back at her. "Some day, Celestia, Nightmare Moon will return and you will be unable to stop her. Trust me, I have a feeling this will happen. You must find a student able to properly wield the Elements of Harmony, or else all will be lost for you."

Celestia gulped at Arceus' dire words of warning. Then Arceus' eyes twinkled past his grief and he said, "But I'm not one to leave with such unpleasant words. Good bye, Celestia. And may there be a sparkle even in the darkest twilight."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Almost One-Thousand Years Later…

"And what is your name?" a much older, much wiser Celestia asked the small purple unicorn with a strong sense of magic about her.

"T-Twilight Sparkle, Your Majesty," the little filly answered.

Celestia instantly flashed back to the parting words of Arceus

" _And may there be a sparkle even in the darkest twilight."_

 _Arceus, you sly creature,_ Celestia silently laughed to herself.

"Now," she said, addressing the "Sparkle in the darkest twilight". "How would you like to be my student…?"

The End


End file.
